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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Story Time . . . Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd

Can I just say that I miss chick lit? I'm not sure why it went out of style, but there's something about those insecure young heroines with a quirky outlook that inevitably sucks me in. And you know, I occasionally need a break from heavy, serious works--when that happens, this genre is just perfect. They still deal with the real issues, but they do it in a light voice.

Last month I e-met (how's that for coining a phrase? LOL) Sandra Byrd, who was interested in joining one of the historical groups I belong to. She has a Tudor-era novel coming out from Howard next year and loves this new direction of her career. Now, though, she has some YA books out, and a chick lit series. We did a book swap--I sent her Stray Drop, and she sent me these contemporaries. =)

I just finished reading the first one, and I gotta say, I love it. The heroine, Lexi, is a fairly recent college grad who majored in French studies . . . and now can't find a job. Certainly not in her area of interest. As a result, she's living at home again--and can't find a guy. But with her parents selling their house and moving to a retirement community in six months, Lexi's on the clock. It's time to get her life together--fast. Can the fabulous French bakery--and the fabulous French baker--be the answer to her stilted prayers?

But nothing's easy, not even something she loves as much as working at L'Esperance. She somehow manages to flub a huge order for a cute professional, and when he asks her what he's supposed to do, she snaps, "Let them eat cake!" Something snaps inside her too--it's high time she stop trying to please everyone else in her life and work on pleasing God. Chasing her own dreams, no one else's. Viva la revolution!

Personally, I was hooked from the first page. Each chapter starts with a French quote translated into English, and what woman wouldn't love this one? :

And that is the summation of life through the eyes of Lexi Stuart. She knows where her problems are--but just like those fave shoes that rub, but which you just can't get rid of, it isn't a matter of obliterating your problems. It's a matter of working with them.

As I was reading, I couldn't wait to see what Lexi would get into next! Where her rêves, her dreams, would take her. And how many blisters her over-priced shoes rubbed along the way. ;-)

(Adorable note--my kids sat there yesterday trying to decide which of the petit fours on the cover would be tastiest and them pretended to munch them. =) Xoe, of course, favored the pink heart-shaped one in the middle. Rowyn wanted the German chocolate one on the back. )